Weekend in new york.

Uncle John, Auntie Lisa, and Linna wearing
clown noses at the Big Apple Circus in NYC
in November of this year. The four of us
had so much fun!

I was just sitting down to write a blog post about our weekend trip to New York, when we got a very sad phone-call from Linna's Auntie Lisa (AJ's sister). Earlier this month, Linna and I flew from Singapore to New York to spend a few days with my sister-in-law Lisa and her husband John. Between the wonderful time we spent with Uncle John and Auntie Lisa, and the upsetting news that we received just a couple days ago, I am fully convinced that everything happens for a reason. Let me explain...


For those of you who don't know us very well, we are extremely close with my sister-in-law and brother-in-law (John and Lisa). But we don't see enough of them, as we currently live on opposite sides of the globe. Lisa and John are Linna's Godparents ("Jesus parents", we refer to them as), and they have a Pomeranian named Rosco (or "RoRo" as Linna calls him). As far as I am concerned, RoRo is my nephew, as well as Linna's cousin. He's our tiniest, furriest relative. Sadly, on November 11th, RoRo passed away.

Lisa has had RoRo for as long as I've known her, and RoRo was her baby. RoRo and Linna are the best of friends, and although we knew the end was near for our furry little family-member, it doesn't make his death any easier on anyone.

Our whole family is very, very, sad.

Linna and RoRo when Linna was just a few months old.

RoRo and Linna on Nov. 2nd, 2013 at Uncle John and Auntie Lisa's house in Brooklyn.
Linna was the only person that RoRo would take his medicine from:)

But getting back to my point that "everything happens for a reason" (a motto that has really become my "religion", if you will)... our weekend in New York completely solidified this thought. There's a reason Linna and I flew to New York on the weekend that we did. It's been years since I visited John and Lisa in New York, Linna has never been to their house in Brooklyn, and we got to spend some quality time with our RoRo before he passed away just one week after we left. Our weekend in New York also made me completely confident in our decision to choose Lisa and John as Linna's guardians (God forbid, should anything ever happen to both me and AJ). Lisa and John treat Linna as if she was their own child, and they love Linna more than two people without their own children could ever love a child. Linna LOVES her Uncle John and Auntie Lisa, and AJ and I couldn't be luckier to have these two in our lives. Lisa is not just my sister-in-law, but she's one of my best friends. We really are like carbon copies of each other (give or take a 10-30 lbs... the skinny bitch)... har har! Lisa and John share the same beliefs as AJ and I do, understand our parenting style, and we couldn't ask for two better "Jesus parents" for Linna.

RoRo has been a part of the Saigh family longer than I have. This is
a photo of Lisa, RoRo, and AJ 10 years ago at their parents' house in Mankato.

I am not a religious person, but I do believe in God, and I truly believe that God put us in New York last weekend for a reason. For this, I am very thankful. We are so sad for Lisa and John's loss, and our whole family will miss RoRo every day. Pets become members of the family, and RoRo was no exception. I'm in tears as I write this. It breaks my heart to not only think of how much Lisa and John are hurting right now, but the thought of Linna asking Lisa where RoRo is, when Lisa flies to Minnesota next week... it's going to be really hard for everyone. Linna has no idea that RoRo has passed away, and she's probably too young to understand, but I know she is going to miss her furry little cousin. We all are.

Rest in peace little RoRo. We love you!

My favorite photo of RoRo.